Parents don't realize health consequences of kids being overweight

A study revealed that parents of obese children often do not recognize the potentially serious health consequences of childhood weight gain or the importance of daily physical activity that would help their child reach a healthy weight.

Lead author, Kyung Rhee, MD, and an assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Pediatrics stated that parents have a hard time changing their child's dietary and physical activity behaviors and their study revealed about the factors that might be associated with a parent's motivation to help their child become healthier.

According to the study led by University of California, parents indicated a greater interest in helping their child eat "a healthy diet" than encouraging the pediatrician-recommended hour of daily physical activity.

The researchers said that education, income and race/ethnicity had no statistically significant bearing on a parent's likelihood of making dietary changes for their child.

In terms of physical activity, researchers do not know why parents appeared to underemphasize their role in good health, but the finding was consistent with other recent studies that suggested America's youth were largely out-of-shape and sedentary, replacing playtime with "screen time."

Experts also said that one strategy to counteract the trend might be to intervene early.

The study was published online in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.